Favorite Schools

Favorite Teams

Park Drive in Bridgeton reopened, residents and business owners relieved

park drive bridgeton

Park Drive along Sunset Lake in Bridgeton is finally open to traffic, after months of reconstruction to the south side of the roadway, Friday, April 18, 2014. (Staff Photo by Cindy Hepner/South Jersey Times)

BRIDGETON — After nearly six months of construction, with businesses and drivers waiting idly by, Park Drive — from Old Deerfield Pike to West Avenue — has been reopened to the public.

Drivers were cruising through the clean and freshly paved road Friday morning. For many of them, the closing was merely an inconvenience. However, for several business owners in Hopewell and Upper Deerfield townships, it meant a huge hit in profits.

Park Drive, which is adjacent to Sunset Lake, between Mayor Aitken Drive and Gary Plaza, was under construction to fix Sunset Lake since November 2013. The road closure where vehicles were forced to detour stretched all the way out to West Avenue and West Park Drive at one end to Park Drive and Old Deerfield Pike at the other end.

Heavy rains in August 2011 caused the lake to swell and the dam to give way. A construction crew worked to shore up the embankment, install pilings and repair the damaged roadway. The Federal Highway Administration funded 80 percent of the $2.2 million project.

In early December 2013, Bruce Peterson, owner of Hopewell Sub & Pizza on Route 49, said the closure was causing a serious decline in traffic, resulting in a major loss in sales. Park Drive is the main artery and most convenient connection for motorists to travel from Upper Deerfield Township to Hopewell Township.

Other businesses in the area also reported a decline in sales. Peterson was concerned he might even have to close shop.

Kaitlyn Long, an employee at Hopewell Sub & Pizza, said she expects customer traffic to pick up since Park Drive reopened.

On Friday, a number of residents in Mainline Deli, which is right next door to Hopewell Sub & Pizza, were excited about the reopening.

“Oh man it was so annoying,” a man said while handing money to the cashier.

“Definitely a hassle,” said Ashley Erianne, of Bridgeton.

This wasn’t the first time Park Drive was closed for an extended period of time. But for residents and businesses, hopefully it is the last.